The Life Story of
Magdalena Pickle DURFEE1788 - 1850

Magdalena Pickle Durfee (also known as Lainey) was the
mother of thirteen children. The second oldest, Tamma Durfee
Miner who at the age of 68 in Springville, Utah wrote a
highly interesting sketch of their pioneering experiences
and their sufferings from religious persecutions, stated
that her mother was born June 6, 1788 of Dutch descent. She
said that her mother's parents were from Holland, she
thought High Dutch. (They were Palatines)

We have no record of her marriage to Edmond Durfee. It
probably occurred in Madison County, New York about 1810. We
have good evidence that the Pickle family moved to this
county about 1800. It is possible that Edmond went seeking a
new home and came to this place. He was born in Tiverton,
Newport, Rhode Island 3 Oct 1786; the son of Perry and Annie
Salisbury or Sulsbury Durfee where the Durfee family had
lived for many years. His father died in 1800 and in 1801,
Edmond who was then 15 years of age and his four younger
brothers accompanied their grandparents James and Anne
Borden Durfee to New York and settled in Broadalbin,
Montgomery Co. (now Fulton Co.). They made their home in
Lenox, Madison County and this is where their first six
children were born, namely, Martha in 1811, Tamma in 1813,
Edmond J. in 1814, Dolly in 1816, John in 1818 and Lana or
Delana in 1820. The next six children were born in the
little town of Amboy in Oswego County where the family had
moved about the year 1822. Tamma in her sketch says of this
country: "In a new country father bought some land, built a
house, made a small farm and worked at his trade mostly that
of carpenter and millwright. There were lots of maple trees
and we had plenty of maple syrup". Tamma was then about nine
years old. The children who were born in Amboy were: William
in September 1822, Ephraim in Jun 1824, ABRAHAM in Nov 1826,
Henry born and died in 1827, Jabez 10 May 1828, Mary 21 Mar
1830.

It seems that the natural trend of the pioneer settler in
those days was to keep going west and many thousands were
flocking to the Great Western Reserve which later became the
State of Ohio. The Durfee family were no exception and in
June 1830 after selling their possessions in Amboy loaded
their personal belongings into their wagons and rode to
Camden, a town southeast of Amboy and embarked on one of the
ships of the newly built Erie Canal (1825) and rode to
Buffalo on the shore of Lake Erie took ship on that lake and
landed at Portland, Ohio, then went by land to find them a
new home, which they found at the little town of Ruggles in
Huron County (now Ashland Co.).

It was here in the spring of 1831 that the family first
heard of the restored Gospel from two missionaries, Solomon
Hancock and Simeon Carter.

They had heard rumors about Joseph Smith and his Gold Bible
but to hear the facts of the coming forth of the Book of
Mormon appealed to them as the truth. They belonged to the
Methodist Church and the Elders were allowed to hold
meetings in their church house. Tamma says that they
attended both the Methodist meetings and the meetings
conducted by the Elders and were soon convinced to the truth
of the restored Gospel of Jesus Christ. She said she
believed it the first time she heard it. Her parents, Martha
and Edmond, Jr., were baptized that spring and she in Dec
1831 by her father before he went on a mission to Chautauqua
County, New York. Her father had been ordained an elder soon
after baptism.

In May 1833 the family made another move this time to join
the Saints in Kirtland, Ohio. The youngest child, Nephi was
born here 22 Jul 1835, making 12 living children.

Magdalena and her family were satisfied and happy in their
new life among the Saints in Kirtland and were active in all
phases of the newly restored Church. While living in
Ruggles, her husband went on two missions for the Church in
Chautauqua County, New York, the first in the winter of
1831-1832. Returning in the spring he accompanied nine other
brethren to Jackson County, Missouri to help put in grain
and build houses for the building up of the Center Stake of
Zion in accordance with the revealed word of the Lord to his
people through the Prophet Joseph in Jul 1831.

On his second mission her daughter Tamma relates in her
sketch: "He came back the 20th of May and went back to the
states on a mission. He came home in the fall of 1832, sold
his farm and all of our possessions and started for
Kirtland, Ohio on the first of May 1833."

Tamma relates the following: "Albert Miner, my husband
helped haul stone every Saturday for a long time for the
building of the temple. Some of the brethren came from long
distances (to work on the temple) and stayed until spring.
Some of them stayed with us and was there for the dedication
in Mar 1836. I was there on the 23 Jul (1834) when they
wanted 24 Elders to lay the corner stones of the temple.
George A. Smith and Don Smith were authorized to make the
selection of the 24 Elders, six to each corner." Tamma's
father was one of this number. And the Durfee family
rejoiced in the privilege of attending the dedication of
this Holy Edifice held on Sunday, Mar 27, 1836, which lasted
from 8 am to 4 pm.

Tamma continue: "At this time many members apostatized and
broke up the Kirtland Bank. Land came up and sold for a
large sum of money." This was the panic of 1837 that
paralyzed the whole country. It was also a very dark period
for the Church, not only financially but a sifting out of
many members who were not firmly rooted in its principles
and became bitter enemies of the Church.

The Saints were now established in Far West and
Adam-ondi-Ahman, having been expelled by the Missouri
mobocrats from Independence. Most of the Saints in Kirtland
removed to these locations at this time. Edmond and Lana
Durfee and their nine children left on the long journey in
the spring 1837 and they settled at Log Creek not far from
Far West. They had been spared the mobbings and persecutions
during the years 1834-1835, in Jackson County but had only
been in Caldwell County a year when the Saints were again
turned out, destitute, mobbed and beaten and left in the
wilderness not knowing where to go.

Tamma's description of their plight is heart rending: "No
one can tell and no one can describe the feelings of the
Saints and what they had to pass through. No tongue can tell
only those who passed through it or were eyewitness to it."
"Their men had been taken prisoners, the women and children
left defenseless to be harassed and plundered by the inhuman
modocrats.

The Prophet Joseph and his brother Hyrum and other leaders
being imprisoned in Liberty Jail, Brigham Young, President
of the Twelve took the lead in finding another location for
the Saints. They headed east toward the Mississippi River.
Edmond Durfee and his son in law Albert Miner were among the
number engaged in helping others who had no means of travel.
They spent most of that winter and spring of 1838-39 in
helping get the Saints to the river, making many trips back
and forth. They crossed the river near Quincy, Illinois and
went up the river to a place called Lima in Adams County,
Illinois. Albert and Tamma lived there from 1839 until the
spring of 1842 at which time they bought a place in Nauvoo,
four miles east of the Temple. Tamma relates that while
living in Lima they would go every fall and spring thirty
miles to Nauvoo to attend the LDS Conferences and in the
summer to the Fourth of July celebrations.

Tamma relates that they heard the Prophet Joseph and brother
Hyrum speak many times, the last time being in May before
they were martyred. She said, "I heard Joseph speak to a
congregation for five hours and no one became tired. This
was in Kirtland before the temple was built."

(I record these events from the pen of Tamma Durfee Miner as
it appears in most cases she stayed close to her family in
all their travels and sojourns and that they shared the same
experiences.)

Magdalena and her husband made their home at a little town
called Yelrome which is situated two and one-half miles
northeast of Lima just over the line into Hancock County and
which the Saints named Morley Settlement in honor of Isaac
Morley after he was made the Branch President of the Lima
District. This took place at a conference held at Lima Oct
22, 1840 and Patriarch Isaac Morley was sustained as the
Stake President and Gardner Snow as the Bishop.

The names of their children listed on the Branch records at
this time were: John Abraham, Jabez, Mary, and Nephi; also
two married children, Martha who married Lyman Stevens and
Lana who married William Dudley.

The Saints enjoyed a few years of peace and prosperity in
Illinois but when the Non-Mormons saw their numbers
increasing in power and strength, hatred and jealousy arose
among them. Tamma relates concerning this: "The dark clouds
of persecution was still hanging over us. The mobocrats
drove all of the people out of Father Morley's Settlement,
turned the sick ones out, drove them all out to live or die,
rolled my brother Nephi up in his bed and threw him out
doors when he was sick, and then set fire to their house by
throwing some bundles of oats that were afire, on top of the
house.

This took place in September 1845. Albert Miner and 134
other volunteers with their teams were kept busy night and
day in caring for these homeless and destitute Saints and
getting them safely settled in Nauvoo. An Agreement was made
with the mob to allow the brethren without molestation to go
back and finish harvesting their crops. Tamma relates the
following concerning the shooting of her father: "It was on
Saturday night and they were very near done and when it got
dark; the mob built a fire close by the barn and stables
(belonging to Solomon Hancock) and the Mormons thought they
meant to burn their horses, so they ran out to stop the
fire. The mob stood back in the timber and as our men went
between them and the fire, they shot off a dozen guns, but
my father was the only one they killed."

This happened on the night of Nov 15, 1845. Mormon Miner,
Tamma's son who was very young at the time later wrote in
his autobiography a few incidents of those times. He said
his grandfather was shot by a man named Synder who did it to
win a bet of two gallons of whiskey. Some time after this,
Snyder in a drunken row was shot and the wound never healed.
He actually rotted alive with the stench so offensive that
his friends forsook him, although he lingered for months
before he died.

Tamma speaks of her father as one who had never done any
harm in his life but on the contrary had always taught good
principles of truth and uprightness and goodness and
morality and industry all the days of his life.

The Saints worked hard all winter repairing and building
wagons and making preparations to leave in the spring, but
persecutions became so severe that many of them left in
February crossing the Mississippi on the ice. The
unscrupulous mobocrats did all they could to prevent them
from getting a sale for their land and other property as
they wanted to go in and possess it themselves after the
Saints left.

Magdalena was left now with only her two sons Jabez and
Nephi. They made their way to Council Bluffs where they
remained for several years as Jabez was requested to stay
there and help make wagons for the emigration companies
going across the plains.

Before leaving Nauvoo Magdalena had married her
brother-in-law Jabez Durfee on Jan. 21, 1846 for time.
Jabez's wife Electa Cranston had died in 1834 at
Independence, Missouri during the persecutions inflicted on
the Saints at that time. On this same date Magdalena
received her endowments in the Nauvoo Temple and was Sealed
to her deceased husband Edmond Durfee. Jabez Durfee did not
continue the journey to the valleys of the mountains. He
died at White Cloud, Iowa in Apr 1867 or 1868.

Magdalena and her son Jabez were preparing to cross the
plains in one of the 1850 pioneer companies. It is believed
that Nephi left the year before (1849) with his Aunt Martha
Stevens and family. But Magdalena did not live to make the
trip. Instead her spirit took flight to the realm where
persecution and suffering could not reach her. Her death
occured May 17, 1850 while encamped at Musketol Creek,
Council Bluffs, Pottawattamie, Iowa, she and her husband
both being martyrs to the truths of the Restored Gospel. Her
son John Durfee had died at Council Bluffs, four and
one-half months before on Jan 1, 1850 leaving a wife and two
young boys who later crossed the plains to the Rocky
Mountains. Her oldest son Edmond did not go to the Valleys
of the Mountains. He and his family lived in Iowa and
Nebraska. Both he and his wife died in Nebraska. It is
reported that Edmond left the Church. As far as is known all
of their other children were true to the Faith.

Magdalena Durfee was nearly 62 years old at the time of her
death, had raised a large honorable family, faithful, true
and upright in every way and taught her family to be the
same. A unfaltering faith sustained during the years of
suffering from inflictions and persecution and when her
husband was cruelly murdered by the mob this faith gave her
an assurance that through the obedience of gospel principles
they would yet live together in peace and happiness in an
eternal home.